Monday’s monthly emergency warning siren test resulted in 18 of the 71 sirens in the County of Hawaii not sounding, primarily in the Hilo and Puna areas.

The trouble was traced to a radio transmission repeater site in the Kulani area, which provides the radio signal communications link for those sirens.

Corrective actions were taken, and preliminary tests confirmed system function and its operation. A follow-up siren test will be conducted,and the public will be informed in advance of the test to avoid any confusion or concern.

The emergency warning siren system is owned by the Hawaii State Civil Defense Agency.

A massive statewide upgrade is planned for the system, with priority given to replacement and new sirens in tsunami evacuation areas.

The upgraded system, based on redundant satellite and cellular communications links, will bring more reliability and flexibility in sounding sirens.

Until that new system is in place, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency is committed to working together with State Civil Defense to ensure the current system is functional, and to expedite the implementation and completion of the planned upgrade project.

Sirens are just one facet of our comprehensive emergency notification strategy, which includes sounding sirens, sending phone, text, and email alerts through mass notification systems, Civil Defense messages on radio and television stations, and manual notification by Police, Fire, and Civil Air Patrol.